The man who died in a shooting which injured three others at a Waitārere Beach property has been named online, as police reveal that a dismantled firearm was seized from the property earlier that day.
Yesterday, Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham said police responded to a 111 call to the property in the Horowhenua settlement shortly before 1am on Wednesday.
A woman, 46, and two males aged 21 and 17 were taken to hospital with critical injuries, where they remain. A 60-year-old man died at the scene.
That man has been named online by family as Benjamin Harry Timmins.
Another family member was found at the property unharmed, and was now being looked after by relatives.
A police spokesperson said the call to emergency services around 12.40am was a "non-speech emergency call", which meant the caller called 111 but did not speak.
"However, we believe the call was made by the child at the address," the spokesperson said.
Police confirmed officers had also responded to a family harm-related incident at the property on Friday, January 9.
"One person was arrested and charged with assault on a person in a family relationship and had been scheduled to appear in court on January 14," police said.
Police confirmed it was the 60-year-old who had been arrested.
Dismantled gun seized earlier that day
Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham also confirmed that a dismantled firearm, firearms parts and ammunition was seized from the property in Waitārere Beach at 7.15pm on January 13, before the incident early on January 14.
Grantham said police were called to the address after a person found what they believed to be a firearm in a shed at the property.
"The items were seized with the intent of forensically examining them and considering any firearms-related charges that might be applicable, given that nobody residing at the property was the holder of a firearms licence," he said.
"As you know, police were called back to the property just a few hours later, where we found one person deceased and three people critically injured.
Grantham said police would continue to work to understand how and why the incident occurred.
"The information gathered in the earlier visit to the address by our officers will form part of our inquiries," he said.
"I know the way events unfolded that night will weigh heavily on all those involved, but I'm confident the officers who responded to that earlier call did everything correctly and appropriately, based on the information they had to hand."
The man’s body remains at the scene, and will be removed today ahead of a post-mortem examination tomorrow.
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